Newcastle vs Chelsea – Premier League: TV channel, team news, lineups & prediction

A depleted Newcastle United welcome Chelsea to St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon.

Eddie Howe has lost a glut of players to injury and suspension over recent weeks, with the toll eventually telling in a comprehensive 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth ahead of the November international break. Newcastle’s vice-captain Kieran Trippier ended the match by confronting his own dissenting fans and flagged the injury crisis in defence of the team.

Chelsea’s most recent week of Premier League football was no less chaotic but far more encouraging. Mauricio Pochettino’s side followed up a bonkers 4-1 victory over his former employers Tottenham Hotspur with an eight-goal epic against Manchester City.

Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming match.

Newcastle vs Chelsea H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current Form (Last Five Games)

It would be far more efficient to list the Newcastle players who are not hampered by injury.

Long-term absentees Sven Botman (knee) and Harvey Barnes (ankle) will not be available until December at the very earliest. Howe lost both of his left-backs within a matter of days as Matt Targett (hamstring) and Dan Burn (back) were consigned to the treatment room this month.

Elliot Anderson (back) and Jacob Murphy (shoulder) won’t feature again this calendar year while Sandro Tonali is in the midst of a ten-month betting ban. There are also lingering doubts over Miguel Almiron’s involvement after withdrawing from Paraguay’s international camp.

Callum Wilson’s latest hamstring injury is more severe than first feared but fellow striker Alexander Isak is expected to return this month, with the Swede potentially available for Chelsea’s visit. Centre-back Fabian Schar may also feature despite struggling with a muscular complaint while on international duty with Switzerland.

Bruno Guimaraes has served his one-game suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards but Chelsea loanee Lewis Hall cannot face his parent club.

Newcastle predicted lineup vs Chelsea (4-3-3): Pope; Livramento, Lascelles, Schar, Trippier; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Willock; Gordon, Isak, Joelinton.

Chelsea are no strangers to injury woes themselves. Long-term absentees Wesley Fofana (knee), Carney Chukwuemeka (knee) and Trevoh Chalobah (thigh) remain sidelined while vice-captain Ben Chilwell is not expected back until December.

However, the Blues have been boosted by the progress shown from defenders Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto during the international break. Neither 20-year-old was fit enough to represent their country in November but both have been involved in training at Cobham.

This news comes on the back of Pochettino’s fierce optimism that summer arrivals Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia may be available this month. Nkunku’s potential involvement on Saturday – which would likely be from the bench if at all – is particularly exciting. Last season’s top scorer in the Bundesliga offers the clinical edge that Chelsea have lacked this term; no Premier League team has underperformed their expected goals by a wider margin than the Blues.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Newcastle (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Disasi, Silva, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling; Jackson

Chelsea have reserved their best performances under Pochettino for encounters with the division’s elite. Whether Newcastle fall into the same bracket as Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool is up for debate, especially given the injury-ravaged squad Howe has to manage.

Even when understrength, Newcastle have been able to rouse themselves in front of their home crowd – the Magpies have won all but one domestic match at St James’ Park this season, only losing to Liverpool last August in stoppage time.

While Chelsea may not inflict a rare home defeat on Newcastle this weekend, Pochettino’s improving outfit could earn a share of the spoils.

Prediction: Newcastle 1-1 Chelsea

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